Wasim smells conspiracy against Akmal, Naved

The match-fixing slur on Kamran Akmal and Rana Naved might just be a conspiracy to discredit them by none other then some of their own fellow players, feels former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram.

Wasim, who left for India to take over as a bowling consultant for Indian Premier League team Kolkata Knight Riders, told reporters before his departure that he was shocked to read reports that Akmal and Naved were under investigation by the Pakistan Cricket Board for match-fixing.

"I know this is not true because these players are not involved in this menace at all. There has always been a conspiracy to link our players to this scandal to spoil the image of Pakistan cricket which is sad," he said.

Wasim said it was also sad that some players were also behind this move to discredit other players and drag them into the match-fixing scandal.

"I can sense this is happening which is really disappointing because the players need to support each other," he added.

The former captain said it was a tragedy that for years accusations were made at the Pakistani players without any evidence to back them up.

"In any other country no one can make such accusations and not face legal complications but in Pakistan it happens regularly and it disturbs our players a lot," he said.